


Sir Hugsalot

by XtaticPearl



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:38:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12392886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: Tony wants to be a caring friend but sometimes it's easier to create a bot to do it. Steve doesn't seem to have the same idea





	Sir Hugsalot

Monsoon was a neutral season in the Avengers Tower. While summer meant hogging the pools and cribbing about sunburns, fall meant Natasha glaring at anyone talking about Halloween (Clint simply said Budapest, like that explained all of Natasha’s quirks), and spring was Thor’s paradise while the others watched out for Loki. Winter, by unspoken agreement, was nobody’s favorite.

But monsoon, that was the neutral zone. There was no rule during monsoon, except for Clint’s rules because an unleashed and unrestricted Clint was always a danger to the constantly bleak Avengers PR. Other than those, there were no rules and no set traditions that came to be. It was a quiet season, one where even the loudest ruckus was always tinged by a subdued air. There was no rhyme or reason to it, but Tony always reckoned that it was the rain that brought it. Rain was always moody to the genius; it always flitted between being playful and alive, and morose and stoic. Tony often caught Steve or Thor gazing at the windows, watching a lone raindrop trickle down. Like they were watching some invisible reflection cry.

It was a neutral zone, but not one that Tony always felt comfortable about. He knew his team well enough, despite what a suspicious Hill said, to say that they were all sad creatures wrapped in manic energy and insane power. They weren’t happy by nature, no matter what people saw in a boisterous Thor or a cheeky Clint. Or maybe they were and the job sucked that out of him. He didn’t really know. All he knew was that they had enough of rain dampening their moods on a general range.

He knew that. He also knew that it wasn’t something changeable. But it never sat well with him, as he watched them brood openly - the way he did in hiding in his workshop. 

This irk was fine as it was, if Tony’s itch for some madness hadn’t combined with it one dark evening. He had been watching Steve surreptitiously, as one does when hoping to avoid being caught red handed by the greatest crush of one’s life. The supersoldier had been gazing listlessly at the window, a sketchbook in hand and lost expression on his face. Steve’s sketches reflected his moods, Tony knew that. He also knew that at the moment, Steve’s sketches would be the personification of melancholy. 

It had been sheer dumb luck, as he would explain to Rhodey later, that Natasha and Bruce had been watching Big Hero 6 at that time. Natasha had a strange affection to animation and Bruce was the only one who never acted weird about it, so it was a routine between them to watch an animated movie on the quiet nights. 

 _“ Hairy baby! Hairy baaaby!”,_ a lilting robotic voice drew his attention to the large screen and Tony watched as a loopy Baymax petting a grumpy but purring cat with an adoring expression.

 _“Health care, your pers… personal Baymax companion..”_  the adorably drunk sounding big balloon of fluff reminded Hiro and…

Tony sat up straight and felt a lightening zing in his brain. His mind raced through the concept and its implications. A personal care provider, he thought with growing excitement. A walking marshmallow who could do the things that Tony knew his team needed but couldn’t do for them himself. The hugging and the caring and the comforting…

“Yess,” Tony hissed in excitement and raised an eyebrow when both Bruce and Natasha shushed him without looking back from their spot. Scrambling to his feet and mind already working over the idea, Tony shot one last look at a somber looking Steve and shot out of the floor with his workshop in mind.

He was going to make monsoon happy goddammit, even if he had to engineer a Disney character modification for it.

———-

“It’s Big Foot,” Sam said after an hour of observing Tony’s masterpiece. Tony’s eye twitched and he suppressed the urge to pour his smoothie down Sam’s head with great restraint. _Great_  restraint.

“It’s not Big Foot,” Tony said in what he thought was a perfectly reasonable tone but Sam’s raised eyebrow hinted that it wasn’t coming out too well, “It’s a StarkPal. A companion with the highest emotional, physical, and mental health care giving capability.”

“It still looks like Big Foot,” Sam shrugged and Tony shot an unrepentant Rhodey a glare from his stool for inflicting this one him. When he had asked Rhodey to come by to see his latest invention, he had not expected him to bring his new boyfriend and Tony’s not-so-secret-secret-friend-and-teammate with him. In an attempt to play civil, Tony had asked Sam for his opinion on the invention.

Biggest mistake of his life in the past three days.

“It looks non threatening,” Tony retorted and Sam shot him a wry look.

“It has an armor. It’s literally wearing an armor,” he pointed as the seven foot tall bot that had a golden armor. Thankfully, it wasn’t metal and seemed more like padding than anything else.

“It looks majestic,” Tony hissed, because he had a thing for armors. Surprising to no one.

“It looks like a Yeti who just got knighted,” Rhodey offered from the workshop couch and Tony really, truly hoped that his best friend would be bitten by that missing bug that Tony forgot to take out last week,

“It’s not…it’s a care companion!” Tony gestured towards the white and gold bot with large blue eyes. That was totally not inspired from any supersoldier.

“I’m not saying it’s not cool,” Sam said with a small grin and hopped up to circle around the bot with sharp eyes, “It’s pretty cool. And sure, the idea is pretty awesome, even if you got it from Disney.”

“They totally got Hiro from me,” Tony countered and Sam raised his hands in mock surrender even though his eyes were warm and laughing.

“Sure, man,” he nodded and looked back over his shoulder at Rhodey, “So, what are we calling Tony’s latest love gift for Steve?”

“It’s NOT a -” Tony bit out with widened eyes but Rhodey spoke over him.

“Dunno,” Rhodey looked thoughtful, “It looks very Arthurian. Should have an appropriate name.”

“Hmm,” Sam hummed, “Kinda like a knight?”

“Yeah,” Rhodey nodded and looked at Tony, “Any suggestions, lover boy?”

Tony ignored the lover boy comment and tilted his head at the bot which was now scanning the three occupants of the place.

“Hugo?” 

“Meh,” Sam wrinkled his nose.

“Lancelot?” Rhodey suggested and the others made unimpressed faces.

“Merlin?”

“No magic,” Tony quipped and remembered the last time magic brought them trouble. Steve was super mad at him that time, for endangering himself and -

“You seem sad,” the bot spoke up and Tony saw Sam jump a bit while Rhodey blinked.

“What?”

“My scans and calculations indicate that you are experiencing an emotion,” the bot explained, gazing calmly at Tony, “It says in my database that the emotion is sadness.”

“Um,” Tony cleared his throat and carefully did not look at the others, “No, I’m -”

“My solutions include a variety of activities and dietary implements, along with conversation with your preferred humans. Or me,” the bot continued, “The first on my list of activities seem to be hugging.”

“Oh no, no , no -” Tony was cut off when the knight-bot stepped forward and carefully embraced him in a warm hug.

“There, there,” the bot cooed and patted the genius on his head while gently swaying with him in its arms. 

“Oh my god,” Sam whispered in an awed tone and Tony tried to get out of the hug but it just…felt…good.

“I think,” Rhodey said after a minute, in his smug tone, “we have a name.”

Tony just knew that his magnificent invention was doomed to have the cheesiest name in history.

——

“Meet Sir Hugsalot”

Hugsalot waved in a half circular hand motion and then did it again when Clint waved back with an amused expression.

“Is this…what is this?” Bruce asked as he took in the seven foot armored marshmallow like bot, “Is this your version of Baymax?”

“It’s an _improved_  version of Baymax,” Tony corrected as though offended and Bruce shared a quick look with Natasha, “ _This_  is a StarkPal. Fully functional, real, and marketable.”

“Wait, you’re selling robot friends now?” Clint asked with a choked laugh as he observed Hugsalot with curious eyes.

“Not…yet,” Tony hedged before continuing, “This is a prototype, and I thought, who better to test on than my favorite pigs?”

“We’re you favorite?” Natasha asked deadpanned and Tony winked at her like the completely reckless man he was.

“My favorite _guinea pigs_ ,” Tony corrected and moved a bit when Thor came forward to poke at Hugsalot.

“Hello, Sir Hugsalot,” Thor boomed and extended an arm to the bot, “It is an honor to meet you.”

“Hello, Thor,” Hugsalot replied in a voice that Tony thought sounded a bit like Leonard Nimoy, “I must complement you on your attire today. You look resplendent in this shade of red.”

“You taught it to flirt?” Natasha raised an eyebrow at Tony but Thor simply laughed with joy, always liking it when somebody complemented him.

“Tony, he is a great companion indeed!” Thor turned to Tony and clapped him on the back before turning to Hugsalot.

“Well, this is going to be entertaining,” Clint commented and Tony noticed that Steve had been the only one to stay silent through the entire demonstration, noting the supersoldier watching the bot with an unreadable expression.

—–

Hugsalot, or Hugsie as Clint shortened it, was a hit among the Avengers. It was almost creepy if you thought about it but he had become a faster friend to them than any human had.

He would quietly help Bruce with his balcony garden, talking in soft tones about the latest opera music Bruce was listening to. He would gently provide foot massages and hum lullabies to Natasha as they huddled on the couch. He would help Clint do target practice and would never flinch when Clint tried the cliched apple trick on him. With Thor he would listen endlessly to the numerous battle stories and sometimes laments of romance, always offering warm hugs by the end.

But it was Steve that piqued Tony’s curiosity. Hugsalot simply sat with Steve and did nothing. They would sit together on the roof, Steve sketching the sunset and Hugsie staying quiet beside him. They would spend hours in Steve’s suite, where Steve drew Hugsie on canvas and the bot patiently stayed the perfect muse. Steve never really DID anything with Hugsie. He would never ask for hugs or accept them when offered. He was always polite, always kind with the bot, but he never interacted with it the way Tony had intended for.

And Steve still sat by the window, watching raindrops trickle down the glass.

It ate away at Tony for three weeks, making him feel disappointed with himself and dejected at Steve’s unchanged sadness. He felt incompetent. It was the worst feeling he could feel.

Finally, after three weeks, he lost his patience and cornered Steve in the gym.

“So, you don’t like him?”

Steve looked up from the bag he was decimating and then continued with his boxing.

“What?”

“Hugsalot,” Tony gestured impatiently in the air, “You don’t like him?”

“I never said that,” Steve replied calmly and screw it, Tony never liked calm all that much anyway. He neatly steps between Steve and the bag and raises an eyebrow at the fist that almost hits him. Almost.

“Really?” Steve asked, panting with adrenaline and eyes a stormy azure, narrowing slightly at Tony’s action, “Really, Tony?”

“You wouldn’t hit me,” Tony dismissed the idea with a flick of his hand and stared up at Steve, “Important point is that you don’t like Hugsalot. Which is weird because he’s programmed to be likeable. Natasha likes him, and she doesn’t like most people.”

“She likes you too,” Steve quipped, moving away with grace as he resigned himself to unwrap his hands.

“Yeah, well _I’m_  incomparable, that’s different,” Tony grinned, “I’m an acquired taste and you guys have acquired me by now.”

“Acquired taste,” Steve repeated and shook his head with a small huff of a chuckle, “Like wasabi.”

“You think that would hurt me, but it won’t,” Tony snorted, “Wasabi is a food of the gods according to Thor.”

“Thor…” Steve started to say and Tony raised an eyebrow with a smirk, daring him to say it, but Steve simply rolled his eyes, “..is right, of course.”

“Of course,” Tony echoes with a slightly softer grin and then turns quiet for a minute, watching as Steve goes about drinking his water.

It aches him with the fervor of a physical wound, the inability to be useful or helpful to this man. This man, who Tony knows has shouldered more burden than anyone should be allowed. This man who can decimate a reinforced punching bag with the same ferocity as the gentleness he uses to brush strokes on a plain canvas. This man who had captured all of Tony’s expectations and rules and thrown them out the window the minute he had met him. 

This man whom Tony was madly in love with, for every reason he could thinks of.

“I don’t - “ Tony began and exhaled in a shuddering breath as he collected his disappointed thoughts even as Steve eyed him blankly, “I don’t know what to do.”

Steve doesn’t speak, patient and quiet in his silence and Tony tries again

“I don’t know how to help,” he spoke miserably, shifting his gaze away from Steve and glaring at the floor, “How to fix anything. I don’t know…emotions. They’re too, they’re too hooded for me. I’m not an onion guy, Steve and emotions and feelings, they’re like onions. You have to peel back layer after layer. Sometimes people even wonder if I have any. Emotions, I mean, not onions. But I’ve made enough people cry so I’m guessing I do.”

He took a stuttering breath and continued, looking up but not meeting Steve’s eyes completely.

“Monsoons are neutral for us,” he said and he knew he was blabbering, knew he wouldn’t make sense but he had to get it out, “I mean, we don’t have anything against the rains. It rains, it becomes cloudy, we shrug and move on. We don’t really do anything during monsoons, not here. We’re not…we’re not monsoon people.”

“But,” he drags a hand through his hair and laughs weakly, “it does rain. And it screws up our lives sometimes, that wet blanket. It’s not something we see all that well, because we think, oh if I stay inside and don’t go out, I won’t be drenched. The rain won’t affect me. But it still does, because it always does. It’s stupid and it’s pointless and it doesn’t have any logic but it does. Like a lone raindrop on a window pane, it drags us down.”

Pulling on all of his reserves in courage, Tony looked at Steve, actually looked at him and spoke.

“The thing though,” he said, “the thing to remember though, Cap, is that it’s just one of the seasons. And it can’t rain forever.”

“Tony -” Steve’s eyes are bright, too bright, too wide and Tony has never been able to resist them, even for his stupid hugging bots.

“I wanted you to have a friend,” he said, dragging the words out from some dark cavern of his soul, “You have us, yes, but…it doesn’t seem enough. I wanted you to have more. Somebody who wasn’t screwed up and who, for once, didn’t need you to carry their burden or take care of _them_.”

“I wanted you to have a friend and I created Hugsalot,” Tony said with a shaky, weak grin.

It’s back to silence and Tony has never done well with it. He has always been noise, always been action,but this, this is all Steve. And for this man, Tony would be anything.

“I wanted him to be you,” Steve said after a while, too long a while and Tony’s eyes shot up to meet the azure ones that haunted his dreams and made them too.

“What?” he croaked out and Steve let out a small, shaky grin.

“You made me another me, Tony,” he said and Tony - he was gobsmacked. He simply stared at Steve and felt all the silenced thoughts crashing back on him. The eyes, the personality, the warmth of hugs, the idea of a golden armor to protect the bot, the mannerisms. God, he had created his own Steve.

“I wanted him to be you,” Steve said again and Tony was lost, he was always lost when it came to Steve.

“That’s…that’s a bad idea,” Tony chuckled wetly because what were they discussing anymore. What were they talking about?

“Always liked bad ideas,” Steve shrugged, an easy grin on his face, as though his eyes weren’t shining and his face wasn’t brightening, “Did everything good based on bad ideas.”

“I’m not good at,” Tony waved his hand a bit, “caring.”

“I disagree,” Steve said and tilted his head with a fond expression.

“Or being a friend.”

“Definitely disagree,” Steve chuckled and Tony felt an ache settle, calm down in him.

“Or hugging”

“That,” Steve quipped and finally, _finally_  took a step forward, coming closer to Tony and staring back at him with the fondest expression, “remains a theory to be tested.”

“Yeah?” Tony was definitely not sounding choked but Steve simply nodded, a fringe of blonde hair falling onto his forehead.

“Yeah, and you said something about us being your favorite guinea pigs,” Steve replied and opened his arms with a cheeky expression that had Tony choking out a laugh.

“Guinea pig,” Tony muttered and stumbled forward, unbalanced and yet more steady than ever as he steps up and into a pair of arms that…

…that feel warmer and better than any Hugsalot could ever be.

Steve hummed and tightened his hold lightly, breathing in when TOny snuggled closer into Steve’s chest, burying his face into the man’s chest.

“See?” Steve whispered into Tony’s hair, soft and easy and _almost happy_ , “theory disproved. You’re great at hugging.”

Tony let out a sound, something embarrassing he’s sure, but he didn’t let go and stayed, wrapping his arms tighter around Steve’s waist.

For this man, he would disprove every theory they knew.

—-

Hugsie still lives with the ragtag group of seasonal superheroes who turn out to actually be perennial monsoon people. They’re all a bit damp, a bit of wet blankets, and definitely lone raindrops down window panes. But they also stick around for the clouds to clear and the rainbow that comes out after that.

Well, as Clint says, it’s as good as being hugged by your personal hugging pal.


End file.
